Strict
by Hyper V
Summary: Why is Tenzin so strict? Preasures can do a lot to a person, especially if they're a kid who is only so young.


**So, new Kataang babies were announced! Woot! I came up with this after seeing this picture on deviantART (http :/ rosemuse .deviantart. com /gallery/ ?q=Children #/d2aguvf ). It's really cute and I based the children on this pic. Kya looks a wee bit younger than her brothers, but that's ok! **

**So, a friend of mine on here and I were talking and something came up about Tenzin's strictness and how he had a lot of pressure of culture put on him. Like, how when his father dies he's the last and he has all of these things to do to restore the culture and the population of the Air Nomads. Anyway, Airbenders aren't gonna not have pressure put on them until at least one of the temples is full of Air Nomads. So then I came up with this! Hope you enjoy!**

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It was a quiet day at Air Temple Island. The peaceful garden had grown, the sky bison were at rest, the lemurs were off somewhere for their annual feeding time. It was like a paradise. Perfect for meditation, Tenzin mused as he sat himself down in his mother's flower garden, assuming a lotus position and closing his eyes. It was so right.

"Bumi!"

And now it wasn't. Tenzin swore birds flew in every direction and the lemurs stopped feeding as his mother's shrill voice rang through the island. He frowned, trying to maintain a calm and elusive attitude as he heard his older brother start to laugh. What animal had he brought into the temple this time?

With a groan, Tenzin got off the soft rock, running his hand over his shaved head – since he wanted to keep the Air Nomads tradition of shaving their heads – and made his way through the main door of his home.

When he got into the kitchen, he heard a strange noise, probably coming from an animal. It sounded familiar. Was it a moose? No. Hm, maybe a tiger? Nope; it was too high pitched for a tiger. Then it could only be-

"Why in the world would you bring a teenage saber-tooth moose-lion into this household?" Tenzin heard his mother complain, confirming his prediction on the animal breed. "Haven't I told you time and time again not to bring wild animals – lemurs, bison, boar-q-pines, etcetera – into the house?"

Bumi had a tendency to pick up any living creature he found and bring it for inspection by his mother, always thinking the animals needed care and a place to stay. Bumi had inherited his father's love of all living things and his sense of humor and fun-loving nature. Kya had inherited her father's personality altogether along with her mother's hair and blue eyes. That left Tenzin with his mother's temper and his father's eyes. The only other thing that came from his father was his inheritance of Airbending. And to practice that, you needed to be calm. Which right now, Tenzin was not.

"Yes, mom," his older brother sighed, "but he looked so lost! Can't we at least keep this one?"

"If he's lost," began their mother as she took a deep breath, "then he will surely be found by his mother and then we would have a problem, wouldn't we? I've told you the story of your father and uncle and the saber-tooth moose-lion cub and the hole, right?

Bumi raised his right hand that wasn't occupied holding up the moose-lion. Before he could even answer, his mother answered for him.

"Yes," she said calmly but with edge, "I have."

Bumi put on a defeated pouty face and let his hand hang limp as he walked back to the forest part of the island. That only left Tenzin and his mother.

"Mom," Tenzin acknowledged with a nod toward his mother as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Tenzin," Katara said with a tip of her head as she went back to the stove to finish cooking what she started.

It got a bit awkward after some time of Tenzin sitting and his mother humming happily as she worked. So Tenzin did the only other thing he could with the quiet of the place: he meditated. Sitting in his lotus position in his chair, he presumed a peaceful state, closing his eyes and breathing deeply.

The silence was broken, however, when the oldest child of their family entered the kitchen with a look of pure happiness on her face. Then again, she was always happy.

"Mom," she squeaked, prompting her mother to look over at her only daughter and smile a bit at her bright and happy face, "Dad's home from Republic City! I spotted Appa out front on the East Coast of the island!"

Her mother smiled pleasantly, dropping her spoon and ran out the front door. Tenzin only frowned at her antics and scoffed. It wasn't that he didn't want to see his father, he did. It was just that she didn't need to overreact about it. It was just unnecessary. Tenzin closed his eyes again and went back to concentrating. That was, until he felt another's presence.

"Go away, Kya," he said sternly. "You know you can't interrupt me when I'm meditating."

"I know," Kya spoke as she sat in the chair beside his. "I just need to ask you some questions."

Tenzin sighed and opened his eyes, looking over at her. She looked so concerned, like a big sister should. She was afraid for him.

"Shoot," Tenzin gestured, resting his elbow on his knee and his head in his hands.

"I don't really know how to put it," Kya started quietly, "but I really just wanted to ask why you're so strict all the time? You have the temper of a pre-war Firebender and you never want to just hang out with us. So what is it that makes you so strict and uninteresting?"

Tenzin gave a frustrated sigh as he looked at his sister with his big grey eyes.

"You just don't get it," he mumbled as he looked away. "No one understands but me and dad. Maybe mom, but not you and Bumi. You will never understand."

"What won't we understand?" Kya questioned as she put a hand on her brother's shoulder to make him continue.

"Being an Airbender," Tenzin replied. "Dad and I are the last of our kind. And once dad dies, I will be the last of the Airbenders. I must carry on the tradition of meditation, spiritual enlightenment, and many pressures you just don't get. What if I can't find a wife to have children with? Then the Air Nomads' spirit will die out. And now it's up to me to return Airbenders to the world. Do you know what position that puts me in? Do you know what is expected by me from all? Now I carry the burden that dad had to carry. And that requires no room for fun and games. That requires work, discipline, meditation, and enlightenment. I can't let him down, Kya. I can't let the world down."

Kya looked at him with an expression of empathy. She hated seeing her youngest brother in that much despair. So she did the one thing he didn't expect; she hugged him. She enveloped him in a warm and sisterly hug and squeezed as tight as she could. Tenzin was surprised for a second, but finally gave in. He hugged her back, coming out of his meditative position and hugged her fiercely. Until now, he didn't even notice he had started crying.

"You'll find someone," Kya said softly as she held her baby brother, "someone who is willing enough to help you with that tradition. I don't know what you feel, that's true. But I do know that there is someone out there willing to help, just like mom helped dad. Don't you ever think for one second that someone wouldn't help you."

Tenzin nodded silently and composed him, letting go of his sister and wiping his eyes.

"Thanks, Kya," Tenzin croaked, smiling for the first time in a long while, "I really appreciate it."

"I know," Kya answered, patting him on the back. "Now, let's go and see dad. I missed him terribly and I'm sure he missed us too. Then I'll let you get to your meditation."

Tenzin laughed shortly and nodded, rising from his seat and walking out the door with his sister. And man, did he love her.

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**Review!**


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